Tag Archive | soul
Feature Review: Stew & the Negro Problem, Making It
Stew & the Negro Problem Making It [Tight Natural Productions (2011)] For nearly 15 years, singer-songwriter Stew and bassist/arranger/composer Heidi Rodewald were a couple as well as musical partners in two groups—the Negro Problem and Stew. After the pair’s successful collaboration on the Tony winning musical Passing Strange, their personal relationship started to unravel, and [...]
Review: Paul Brady, Hooba Dooba
Paul Brady Hooba Dooba [Proper American Records (2011)] Paul Brady, one of Ireland’s best-known singer-songwriters, has released Hooba Dooba, his 12th solo album, and believe me, it’s cause for some fireworks or at least a few “yip yip” yodels at your nearest Irish bar. Known primarily in America for writing crafty hit songs for others [...]
Feature Review: JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, Want More
JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound Want More [Bloodshot Records (2011)] Classic, soulful R&B is undergoing, if not a full-on ressurgence, at least an reawakening, with singers like Rafael Saadiq leading the way in the U.S., and Britain providing a slew of singers like Adele to park themselves at the top of the charts. JC Brooks [...]
Feature Review: Remastered Stax Classics: Booker T. and the MGs, The Staple Singers, and Johnnie Taylor
Booker T. and the MGs McLemore Avenue [Stax (remastered 2011, recorded 1969-70)] The Staple Singers Be Attitude: Respect Yourself [Stax (remastered 2011, rec. 1970-72)] Johnnie Taylor Taylored in Silk [Stax (remastered 2011, recorded 1971-73)] With these three CDs, Concord inaugurates the Stax Remasters series, which consist of deluxe reissues of classic albums from the golden era of Stax [...]
Review: Johnny Rawls, Memphis Still Got Soul
Johnny Rawls Memphis Still Got Soul [Catfood Records (2011)] The fact that Johnny Rawls’ last three albums have garnered critical acclaim, including five Blues Music Awards nominations—his Ace of Spades won for Soul Blues Album of the Year in 2010—has elevated the man’s status as a purveyor of genuine Southern Soul. His new album leads [...]
Reviews: Ray Charles, Live in Concert; and Willie Nelson, Wynton Marsalis, & Norah Jones, Here We Go Again: Celebrating the Genius of Ray Charles
Ray Charles Live in Concert [Concord (2011)] Willie Nelson, Wynton Marsalis, and Norah Jones Here We Go Again: Celebrating the Genius of Ray Charles [Blue Note (2011)] There was only one Ray Charles (1930-2004). That is made clear by this pair of recently released CDs. Though a wonderful idea, the uniting of vocalists Willie Nelson [...]
Feature Review: Over the Rhine, The Long Surrender
Over the Rhine The Long Surrender [Great Speckled Dog (2011)] The five biggest bands from Ohio, in no particular order, are: Rascal Flatts (Country), Marilyn Manson (Industrial), Bow Wow (Hip-Hop), Warrant (80s Metal) and Devo (?). Also hailing from that musically diverse state is Over the Rhine, a husband-wife team based in Cincinnati. (The band’s name [...]
Review: Gecko Turner, Gone Down South
Here’s one from your humble editor. Things are getting a little chillier on the island these days, and the coconuts aren’t falling quite as often, but here comes an AfroBeatnik to provide some new world music grooves. Funky guitar, lyrics in two languages, and some smokey-raspy singing sure go down smooth.
Review: Cyril Neville, The Essential Cyril Neville 1994-2007
Cyril Neville The Essential Cyril Neville 1994-2007 [M.C. Records (2010)] The youngest of the Neville Brothers, Cyril Neville, 62, has long provided some of the funkiest moments to ever come out of New Orleans. His Caribbean-rooted conga playing and soulful vocals have produced some of the most explosive peaks of concerts and recordings by the Meters, [...]
